Worlds Away
by MerryMusician
Summary: 'A dark silhouette ducked out of view. Edward jumped out of his bed, suddenly wide awake as he dashed towards the window. He knew he had seen that shape, the shadow. If only he could remember where—' Ed and Al live perfectly normal lives in Dublith, Illinois—or so they thought. Are these strange occurrences just coincidence, or part of a bigger plot? RE-WRITE OF 'COLLISIONS.'
1. Chapter 1

**_Worlds Away_**

**_Chapter 1_**

...

There was nothing.

Nothingness.

Whiteness.

Nobody.

Naught.

Empty.

None.

Zero.

Nil.

No.

Edward stood there, right in the middle of the nothing. Although, how he could _be_ when there was nothing _to be in_ was beyond him.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Then suddenly there _was_ something. Something tall, something dark, something so intricate and glowing with power he could almost not perceive it. Almost.

A door. A great, dominating, vaguely familiar door. Its presence didn't fill the naught space, but still, it had an aura. An aura strangely radiant of malevolence and reality, creation and destruction. Edward idly wondered where it lead.

Suddenly there was another something. This something reminded him of another word: human. Although his mind said this word, his sight disagreed. It was part of the whiteness, only slight shadows giving it the resemblance to a human body.

Ed couldn't make sense of any of it, but simply seeing the thing pumped adrenaline into his veins, anger and fear rising at the back of his throat. He felt himself shout, but the words were absorbed by the nothingness, not quite reaching his own ears.

The something that resembled a human slowly turned to stare at Edward.

It smiled.

The smile held no happiness, no joy. It brimmed to overflowing with smug satisfaction and malice.

"_Edward Elric!" _

_**WHAP**_

Edward jumped from his chair at the sudden assault, falling under the table with an undignified shout. He vaguely heard someone snickering, but it was hard to tell with the sudden throbbing of his head.

"How many times have I told you not to sleep in my class," his attacker said, grinding out the last few words. "Get up! If you want to sleep it'll be on your own time!" She held her weapon—a rather large textbook—high in the air, ready to strike again.

"Yes m 'am!" Edward squeaked, jumping back into his chair properly. His teacher lowered her arm with a _hrrmph_, striding back to the front of the room.

"Let me remind you that _you're_ the one who badgered me into teaching you two _after_ my retirement from Stanford," she said sharply. "So if you want to transfer out of DCC next year, you better start acting like it!"

"Yes Mrs. Curtis," Edward replied, unable to keep eye contact with his infuriated teacher. Yeesh, she scared him sometimes. Of course, she was right. He wanted to get out of Dublith Community College and into Stanford as soon as possible. How else was he to get a decent degree in engineering?

Picking up his pencil, he hastily copied a formula from the chalkboard, scribbling in symbol meanings and other notes in the side margin. Skimming over his previous three pages from the class—all filled top to bottom with notes—Edward thought he did a pretty good job. He only missed a small section while napping, which Alphonse could fill him in with later.

Keeping an ear tuned in to Mrs. Curtis's lecture, Edward cast a sidelong glance at his brother, who also scribbled down notes at the same table as Edward. He noticed how Alphonse didn't even try to hide the know-it-all smirk from his face, his eyes flashing up to silently say _I told you so_.

Edward indigently turned his attention forward again, ignoring Alphonse with a quiet _hmph_. So what if he stayed up a few hours after Alphonse told him to go to bed. So what if he ignored his warnings of falling asleep and suffering Mrs. Curtis's wrath. Edward was the older brother. He could do whatever he wanted.

"…And that's how you apply quantum theory to physical chemistry," Mrs. Curtis finished as she wrote out a page number and a few letters on the board, her chalk screeching uncomfortably on the last stroke. "Apply the same formula to these problems in the textbook for homework. I expect it finished by next Monday. Dismissed."

Edward and Alphonse gathered their things, wishing Mrs. Curtis a good weekend before vacating the converted office. They passed through the den and kitchen, opening a side door into the Curtis Meat Shop, where Mr. Curtis stood behind the counter.

"See ya later, Sid!" Edward said, sliding around the large man and out from behind the counter, his brother close behind.

"Quite a bump there," Mr. Curtis rumbled, observing the red lump on Edward's forehead. "You givin' Izumi trouble?"

"Ed fell asleep again," Alphonse said, aiming a sly smirk at Edward. "He just can't learn his lesson." He shrugged as if his brother was a lost cause.

"Hey! That's the first time I've fallen asleep all week!" Edward tried to defend himself as he walked out the door.

"You fell asleep _twice_ Tuesday," Alphonse called after him, catching the door before it closed and following Edward out.

"I don't remember that," Edward feigned innocence as he pulled out his car keys, unlocking his truck which sat comfortably to the side of the meat shop. He gave the rusty hood a few habitual pats before he hopped into the driver's seat.

"Liar," Alphonse accused lightly, giving up the argument as he slid into his respective seat.

Edward stuck his tongue out childishly, shifting the car into reverse and tapping the gas before glancing up at his rearview mirror.

_A dark silhouette getting closer, so close to them—_

Edward slammed on the breaks without thinking, Alphonse crying out in surprise as they smacked back against their seats.

"Ed! What's wrong?" Alphonse asked shrilly, startled by the sudden impact.

Edward turned around in a panic, but the figure was no longer there. Nothing stirred in the bare lot. Not a soul in sight.

"Ed? Did you hit something?" Alphonse said, panic still in his voice as he turned around.

"…No I… I thought—" Edward started, his gaze still locked to the empty lot. "Nothing. It was nothing."

"…if you say so," Alphonse said, casting another nervous glance behind them. "Be more careful."

Edward nodded, but couldn't shake off the odd nervousness crept into his gut. He just saw a shadow and mistook it for a person. Easy mistake. Could happen to anyone.

He shifted the car into drive, being careful to look around before driving off into the street. By the time they arrived home, the incident was already forgotten.

"We're home!" Alphonse called as they entered the house/workshop, quickly shutting the door against the cool autumn wind.

"Welcome back!" another voice called from the kitchen.

Hanging up his keys, Edward slipped off his shoes and followed Alphonse to the kitchen. He leaned up against the doorframe, laughing a little at the sight before him.

Pinako—the owner of the house and longtime family friend—sat at the table, mechanical pieces spread out like some sort of giant puzzle. The skeleton of a robotic hand lay in the middle of it all, bare wires splaying out from the wrist. Pinako took a long drag from her smoking pipe, exhaling lightly at the sight of the brothers.

"You know we have to eat there tonight Pinako," Edward commented, referencing the messy table and the wafts of smoke clouding around her.

"Yes, yes, I know," Pinako said, shuffling a few parts around. "But Winry's taking up the whole workshop trying to finish two orders by tomorrow, and I've got to make some hay-way on this hand before the night's out. She's probably going to pull another all-nighter."

"Again?" Alphonse said, looking worriedly towards the stairs. "If she keeps doing this she'll get sick from exhaustion."

"She'll be fine. She has the whole weekend to sleep it off," Pinako dismissed before looking critically at the two boys. "Unlike you two, who I'm sure have homework to start on."

"Aw c'mon Grannie, we're not twelve anymore," Edward whined, slouching dramatically against the doorframe. "Cut us some slack. We got home two minutes ago." Pinako's eyes flashed mischievously

"For someone who isn't twelve, you still look like it," she teased, taking another breath from her pipe.

"Hey! I am a twenty-year-old man, and I _do not_ look twelve you miniature grandma!" Edward shouted angrily.

"Who are you calling miniature you microscopic shrimp?!"

"Don't call me a—"

"_SHUT UP! I'm trying to concentrate up here!_"

Edward cringed as the full volume of Winry's voice echoed from the upstairs workshop, sympathizing greatly with Alphonse's wince. Right. No disturbances when she tried to finish orders.

"I'll clean up before dinner, don't you worry," Pinako said, making a shooing motion with her hands. "Now go along before she comes down here with a wrench."

Sighing in resignation, Edward nodded and headed upstairs, Alphonse close behind him. They turned left at the top of the staircase, careful to stay quiet as they passed the workshop. Alphonse silently opened a small door at the end of the hall, revealing another staircase to the attic.

Edward dipped his head slightly as he entered, mindful of the low doorway, before making a beeline for his bed, dumping his messenger bag on the floor and collapsing onto the squeaky mattress.

"Tired…" he muttered.

Alphonse rolled his eyes, shoving a few papers to the other side of their desk as he spread out his own homework. "Don't go to sleep _now_. It's barely three!"

"Shuddap," Edward replied, waving his arm half-heartedly. He lifted his head lazily from his abused pillow, his eyes heavy-lidded as he glanced out their small window.

A dark silhouette ducked out of view.

Edward jumped out of his bed, suddenly wide awake as he dashed towards the window. He knew he had seen that shape, the shadow. If only he could remember where—!

When he reached the window, he saw nothing outside except for the backyard, quiet and undisturbed as it always was.

"What the hell?" Edward muttered, his forehead pressing against the glass as he strained to see any movement.

"Ed…?"

Edward turned around to see Alphonse staring at him, eyebrows raised in question.

"I saw something right outside the window, like—like a person was watching us," Edward explained, aware of how ridiculous the words sounded as soon as they left his mouth.

"Ed, we're on the third floor," Alphonse spoke slowly, as if trying to calm a panicking child. "There's no way anyone could get up here."

"I know that!" Edward snapped, irritated at his brother's disbelieving gaze. "But I saw _something_ outside the window!"

Alphonse's eyebrows only went higher, but he stood and approached the window, his concern for Edward obvious on his face. He took a long look outside, even going as far as checking the view from odd angles and tapping the glass.

"I don't see anything outside Ed," Alphonse said, turning to place a gentle hand on his brother's forehead. "Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you _should_ go to sleep after all."

"I'm fine!" Edward said as he brushed Alphonse's hand away, looking outside the window once more. Maybe he was seeing things. He was pretty tired after all.

Turning around, he almost missed the sight of a shadowy figure disappearing into the trees.

Almost.

...

**Ahhh, hello everyone! Nice to be writing fanfic again. I know what you're probably thinking: "Why didn't you finish _Collisions_? Why are you re-writing it? Why is it no longer a crossover?"**

**Well, if you are a returning reader, then that means you remember me talking about somebody else adopting and completing the story. Due to some complications, this never happened and the story sat for 2 years. I was way too busy with high school to finish it, and frankly, I had lost interest.**

**Recently though, I've rewatched FMA Brotherhood and I've wanted to write something so bad! So, I thought of my old story _Collisions_. But after re-reading it... I just didn't like it. Like most writers, I tend to look back at my old writing as something rather disgusting, and there really was some serious story flaws I disliked. I didn't want to continue it. So, I decided to re-write it with a different direction._  
_**

**As to why it's no longer a crossover, it's because I simply cannot think of a way that the Host Club will ever be relevant to the (revised) plot. So it is simply a modern AUish... thing completely centered around FMAB. My old readers probably recognize the first scene from the last chapter... I shamelessly re-used that, because I'm very proud of it! (Oh, and it's totally plot relevant I promise.)**

**Thank you so much to my old readers for staying with me, and thank you new readers for choosing my story! I hope you enjoyed it and come back for more!**

**-MerryMusician**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Worlds Away_**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_…_**

"There!" Edward shouted, whipping out an accusing figure towards the window. "Somebody's in the forest out back!"

"Huh?" Alphonse turned to the window as Edward raced past him. "Hey! Ed! Wait up!"

Ignoring his brother's calls, Edward flew past Winry's room and down the main stairwell, taking a sharp right to the back door. He shoved on the extra pair of working boots just outside the door, hardly pausing as he sprinted for the woods. Jumping around a cluster of undergrowth, Edward caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

"You're not getting away from me!" he yelled, smiling triumphantly as he gave chase to the shadow.

They dodged right and left, zigzagging impossibly fast through the dense shrubs and undergrowth, obviously trying to lose Edward. They slid off the overgrown trail and into the undergrowth, Edward close on their heels. _Damn it's fast!_ Edward thought as he jumped over another tangled bush, barely avoiding the low hanging tree limbs that scratched and pulled at his clothes. The shadow dived right, and Edward turned to follow—only to slip on the loose leaves and fall into some more unruly shrubbery.

"Shit!" he cursed, wrenching his arms free from the scratchy branches. He tried standing, but his long hair was twisted among the branches. "Ow! Motherf—"

Scowling, he yanked his hair free from its hairtie, pulling it out of the bush in the process. He jumped up and ran in the direction the shadow had disappeared, blonde hair streaming wildly behind him. Reaching a clearing, he stopped, seeing no sign of the silhouette he had chased.

"Damn… it… all…" he panted, his anger dimmed by exhaustion. He collapsed onto the grass, arms stretched above him as he tried to catch his breath. "Where… did you go…"

He turned to see Alphonse run into the clearing, his breath coming in short gasps; no doubt from chasing Edward. He sighed loudly at the sight of his brother sprawled out on the grass, walking over to join him.

"Don't… run off… like that…"Alphonse said as he sat down next to Edward. "Scared me… half to death…"

"There wasn't time," Edward said evenly, finally having regained his breath. "If I'd wasted time explaining, I would've lost that trespasser!"

"So you… actually saw somebody?" Alphonse asked.

"I know I did!" Edward shot up so he could look his brother in the eye. "Somebody—or some_thing_—is running around in our backyard!"

"Okay! Okay! I believe you!" Alphonse raised his hands in surrender, a small smile on his mouth. He shook his head and stood up, offering his hand out to Edward.

"You're gonna help me look for them, right?" Edward said, looking at his hand with a hint of suspicion. Alphonse rolled his eyes.

"Of course, just not right now," he said, stretching his hand closer to Edward. "Come on. I'm sure Pinanko is wondering why we ran out like that."

Edward paused, then grinned. "Yeah."

He took Alphonse's outstretched hand, pulling himself upward with a little jump. He dusted off his blue jeans and pulled his hair back up into a ponytail, taking a solid look at the clearing around them.

It was a decent sized clearing, and Edward guessed it would be beautiful when spring came. Skeletal trees lined the clearing now, their long-dead leaves rustling gently in the breeze. If he concentrated, Edward could see the fence that lined Pinako's property just a little ways outside of the clearing. Maybe the shadow was just a neighbor getting too curious for his own good. They could have easily jumped the fence when Edward was stuck in that bush.

Edward's thoughts were interrupted as a sudden gust of wind overtook the forest, leaves stirring in a great roar of sound. A flock of blackbirds rose above the trees at the disturbance, drawing the attention of both boys towards the setting sun.

"Autumn's going to be over soon," Alphonse commented, brushing his blonde fringe out of his eyes.

"Too soon in my opinion," Edward turned to flash another toothy grin at his brother and froze.

A tree.

A tree was falling.

And headed right for his brother.

"Alphonse lookout!"

Edward dove forward without even thinking, shoving his brother out of harm's way with a force he didn't know he had. He curled his arms protectively above his face as he hit the ground, knowing he didn't have time to get out of the way. Just a few more second and—

**...**

**Yay! Second chapter is up! This one's a little shorter than my usual chapter length, but sometimes short chapters are necessary in the long run. I promise it will make sense come chapter 3.**

**Ooooooh, cliffhanger! Will Edward be crushed by the falling tree? Will Alphonse be able to help him? Find out in chapter 3! (coming soon)**

**Enough of that nonsense. Thank you so much to all of those who followed or favorited this story so quickly, and thank you to those who just stopped by to read it! Special shout out to ksbKipper1998 for being my first reviewer! I would be nothing without you wonderful readers :D**

**Until next time!  
-MerryMusician**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Worlds Away**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_**…**_

Alphonse found himself flat on the ground, twig-like branches and dead leaves covering his body. He blinked, his mind still trying to process what just happened. Ed and he were talking over the wind, about how autumn was ending, then Ed shoved him to the edge of the clearing as the tree—

The tree. Ed.

Alphonse shot upwards, the dead limbs easily giving way in his panicked scrambling. He searched this way and that, hoping, begging, oh God let him be okay—

"Ed!" he cried as he spotted his brother. He ran forward, shoving his way through the branches until he reached Edward.

"You… okay Al?" Edward managed to smile, but his face was deathly white.

"I'm fine! What about—" Alphonse stopped with a gasp. Edward's left leg was caught firmly under one of the thicker branches of the tree, shin bent just enough in the wrong direction that Alphonse knew he had broken something.

"Ed—oh God, your leg!"

"C-calm down! It's just the automail!" Edward said quickly. His smile faltered and he grimaced. "Just—just help me detach it. The pressure plates—really hurt."

"R-right!" Alphonse complied nervously, still trying to force down his panic.

_Focus Alphonse!_ he scolded himself mentally, cursing the way his hands shook as he tried to figure out what to do.

Besides his leg, Edward was otherwise unscathed, his drawn expression the only hint to simulated pain his automail leg was feeding to his nerves. Alphonse just had to get to the port underneath Ed's blue jeans to detach the prosthetic. Trying to rip the fabric would be useless without a knife, and with his leg wedged under the wood, Alphonse couldn't roll up the pant leg.

Alphonse nodded, calm overtaking his features as he figure out a plan. "Okay. Pants off."

"_What?_"

"How else am I supposed to reach your leg port to detach?"

Edward opened his mouth to protest, but bit his tongue as another wave of pain rolled through his leg. "Fine."

With Alphonse's help, Edward managed to strip down to his boxers. Edward rolled up said boxers until his left leg port exposed itself, the metal bright against the pink scar tissue of his thigh. Alphonse quickly pried off one of the metal panels and pressed a red button twice.

The metal prosthetic whirred for a moment then sighed, the leg releasing itself from the port with a small _click! _Edward gasped at the sudden detachment of his nerves, but sighed in relief as the pain disappeared.

"Thanks Al," he said, absentmindedly rubbing his thigh.

"You idiot!" Alphonse shouted angrily, smacking Edward lightly on the head. Edward looked up at his brother in shock, the expression quickly turning into one of indigence.

"Hey, that hurt—"

"Why did you do that?!" Alphonse interrupted, his face fierce. "Don't you—don't you ever think things through? That tree could have fallen on you! You could have died! You could have… died…" Alphonse trailed off and ran a hand through his hair, his lips a thin line as he tried to compose himself.

"Geez, Ed… You could have…" Edward's gaze softened in realization.

"Hey, I'm okay right? We're both okay," he said quietly, placing a hand on Alphonse's shoulder. He laughed a little. "God, you're such a mom sometimes."

"I have to be for someone like you," Alphonse retorted with a small smile, but it disappeared as soon as it arrived. "I-If anything happened to you again… like then…"

Like then. He remembered the sound of metal being crushed, of their mother screaming. Seeing Ed lying in front of him, so still he could be dea—

Alphonse winced, a small headache blossoming from his temple. He reached up to massage the sore spot, but changed his mind halfway and rubbed his eyes instead, smearing some pesky tears into oblivion. Dammit, why was he such a crybaby?

"_Nothing_ is going to happen," Edward cut into Alphonse's thoughts. "To either of us. I promised, remember?"

"…Right," Alphonse smiled again, but this time it was genuine.

"Good," Edward grinned, reaching up to ruffle Alphone's hair. "Now quit being such a wimp and see if you can get my leg."

Alphonse laughed lightly as he brushed his brother's hand away, glad Ed had lightened things up. He always knew how to make people laugh. Alphonse stood up, dusting off his pants before approaching the branch which held Edward's leg captive.

He grabbed the branch tightly, giving it an experimental pull. The dead wood bent slightly in his hand but didn't give. The tree must have been dead for a long time to be so brittle and stiff.

Getting an idea, Alphonse held the branch tightly with his right hand and gave the other end a good kick with the heel of his left foot. He tugged with his right hand, feeling the wood give a little more than before. He kicked the branch a few more times, pulling the other end at the same time until it finally snapped off, revealing the trapped leg underneath.

"Got it!" he shouted, dropping the broken branch to the side as he picked up his brother's prosthetic. He removed the working boot and carefully slid it out of the pants leg, wincing at the sight of dented metal and exposed wires. Edward groaned.

"Winrey's gonna kill me," he lamented, taking the leg from Alphonse to examine the bent shin plate.

"Well…" Alphonse started to deny it, but then sighed in defeat. "Yeah. She's going to kill you." Edward moaned pitifully, no doubt imagining his punishment by the female mechanic.

"You can't avoid it," Alphonse said as he gathered Edward's boots and pants. "Put these back on before you catch a cold."

Edward complied, tying up the end of his left pant leg so he wouldn't trip on it. With one hand still holding the spare boot, Alphonse crouched down and slung Edward's left arm over his shoulder. "Ready?" Edward nodded.

"And up!" they said together as they stood up, Edward wobbling a second before Alphonse steadied him. Turning, they slowly started the limp home.

**...**

**Wow, two chapters in two days? I can hardly believe it myself! I'm just really on a roll with this story! (and it obviously has nothing to do with how I might be procrastinating packing for college move in.) ****Seriously though, I have big plans for this story and know almost exactly where I want to go with it. Thus, the writing part is coming out pretty quick!**

**I'm pleased that I got a little more meat in this chapter, although I still don't regret the super short chapter 2. I mean, I've read published books where some chapters are only 2 or 3 pages long. It happens. Oh, and yes Edward has a prosthetic leg here! Can any of you guess their tragic backstory? **

**Gotta love the angst. Yum. If you're wondering where Ed's fiery temper has gone, just remember that he's 20 now. I imagine him maturing at least _some_ at 20 years old. And Alphonse is totally a mom to him anyways. **

**Thank you all once again for reading and keeping up with _Worlds Away_! Stay tuned as the Elric brothers try to unravel the mystery behind these strange occurrences and reveal the secrets of themselves! _  
_**

**Until next time,  
-MerryMusician**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Worlds Away_**

**_Chapter 4_**

**_…_**

The brothers finally made it out of the back woods, spotting Pinanko standing on the back porch, anxiously puffing her pipe. At the sight of Edward leaning heavily against Alphonse, she quickly left the pipe in its stand and hurried to meet them halfway across the yard.

"You boneheads!" she scolded. "Galloping through the house like a couple of wild animals and running out back without a word—oh, what've you gone and done now?"

"We haven't _done_ anything!" Edward retaliated hotly. "I was trying to catch a trespasser—"

"And he managed to take your prosthetic off? Honestly Ed, you've gotta have something better than that."

"I wasn't finished!"

"A dead tree fell near the back fence," Alphonse explained. "We weren't paying attention and Ed's leg managed to get caught under it"—Pinako's eyes widened—"B-but we're perfectly fine, see? Just had to detach it to get it out."

Pinako sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. "You boys are gonna give me an aneurysm someday..." She paused, looking over their disheveled appearance. "…Hurry up inside so you can clean up before dinner."

"Yes m'am," they said together, Alphonse with a sheepish grin and Edward rolling his eyes. They knew that they were getting off easy, and decided to take it without a fight.

The brothers managed to hobble after Pinako into the house, carefully making their way into the living room while Pianko grabbed a spare prosthetic from the linen closet. Alphonse deposited Edward onto a worn out arm chair as Pinako appeared in the doorway, a simple prosthetic leg held in her arms.

Edward untied his pant leg as she approached, stripping down to his boxers so she could better attach the leg. Pianko quickly inserted the leg into Edward's leg port, twisting it secure with a small _click_.

"There you go," she sighed, dusting her palms. "Now don't go running off again or you're not gonna get any stew tonight."

"I can't run with a spare anyway," Edward grumbled, standing up and gingerly testing his weight on the unfamiliar prosthetic.

"Serves you right!" Pinako called as she left the room, no doubt to tend to the stew she left on the stove.

Alphonse collapsed onto the couch, tired from supporting Edward all the way to the house. He half-heartedly picked a few stray twigs from his hair, watching Edward limp around the living room as he tried to get used to the spare leg. Alphonse twisted a leaf between his fingers, thinking.

"How come a tree just decided to fall right then and there?" he asked quietly, thinking aloud.

"Beats me," Edward said as he flopped down next to his brother. "It was a dead tree, right? Dead trees fall all the time. It's a part of nature."

"I know, I know, but why then? Why us? I mean, you were chasing someone down and then a tree nearly falls on us. Doesn't that seem a bit weird?"

Edward sat up sharply. "You mean, you think someone _made_ that tree fall?"

"I don't know," Alphonse shrugged. "I just think it's weird."

Edward sighed, allowing himself to fall back onto the couch. "Trespassers, trees falling, the shadow this afternoon—"

"Shadow? What shadow?"

Edward grimaced, as if he hadn't meant to speak his thoughts aloud. "I didn't say anything about it because I thought it was my imagination… but with how this day is going…"

"What is it?" Alphonse sat up, curious to hear what his brother was holding back.

"You know how I slammed on the brakes when we left Mrs. Curtis'? I thought I saw someone running towards the car," Edward said, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember. "Well, it was more of a shadow, but I thought I was about to hit someone. But when I turned to look again… nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Bizarre," Alphonse said, staring at the ceiling. "Do you think they're connected?"

"I don't—"

A high pitched scream sounded from the kitchen, startling Edward and Alphonse from their conversation. Then the sound of heavy work boots tromped their way towards the living room. Edward's eyes widened.

"Oh crap!" Edward hissed, struggling to remove himself from the old couch.

"Take cover!" Alphonse said as he jumped up and dived behind the armchair, leaving his poor brother struggling to stand.

The footsteps drew closer and closer until a blond woman stood in the doorway, her hands holding Edward's ruined leg and her face filled with rage. "Edward Elric!" she shouted as she spotted her prey, now standing and slowly backing towards the back hallway.

"Now Winry, just give me a chance here…" Edward started with his hands raised in a silent surrender. Alphonse peeked over the edge of the couch, ready to duck at any moment.

"What the hell is _this!?_" Winry screeched, chucking the damaged leg at him. It connected solidly with Edward's head, nearly knocking him to the ground. Edward shouted in pain, barely catching the leg before it hit the floor.

"I slave over your prosthetics for _weeks_ and this is how you replay me?" the young mechanic said, throwing a pillow from the loveseat at him for good measure. Alphonse winced quietly from his safe position, glad he wasn't the target of her fury.

"I-it was an accident, I swear!" Edward protested weakly, flinching slightly as the pillow made contact with his side.

"It honestly wasn't his fault," Alphonse said, lifting his head farther over the couch. Winry fixed him with a glare, making him immediately retreat to his former position. "S-seriously! An accident!" She huffed angrily, obviously debating whether or not they spoke the truth. After a long pause she sighed, her anger diminishing somewhat.

"If Al says so, I guess you're telling the truth," Winry said, ignoring the indignant scoff from Edward. "But because of your 'accident,' your leg won't be fixed for another week." She walked up to Edward and grabbed what was left of his leg, causing him to flinch.

"Enjoy the spare," she said with a know-it-all smirk, waltzing out of the living room and back towards her workshop.

The boys said nothing as she left, silently staring at the doorway until they hear her slam the door closed upstairs. Edward immediately collapsed onto the couch, groaning as he gingerly touched his forehead in search of his injury.

"Damn, you'd think I break my leg every other week the way she reacted," Edward complained.

"You nearly trashed it last month remember?" Alphonse reminded him as he took his previous seat next to his brother.

"Hey, the key word is 'nearly,'" Edward defended himself, taking in a sharp breath as he found the lump Winry had gifted him. "Shit that hurts!"

"That's going to be one large goose egg," Alphonse said, chuckling as he observed the reddish lump growing on Edward's forehead.

"Whatever," Edward growled. He stood up from the couch, wobbling a second before he regained his balance. "Let's get some food already."

"Alright, alright," Alphonse laughed.

After an icepack and some more, well-earned scolding from Pinako, they finally settled in for dinner. _Stew has never tasted better_, Alphonse thought.

...

**Whew! Chapter 4 is done! Yaaaaaay! **

**Ahahaha, it's been a while no? Been pretty busy getting settled at college and all that... haha yeah...**

**By the way, why are people still faving/following _Collisions_? I thought I made it clear that I was discontinuing the story... that's why I'm writing this one! If you know of anyone, please encourage them to read this one instead (as it will actually update!).**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this installment of _Worlds Away_! This was a bit of a breather chapter, but there's more drama in the next chapter, just you wait...**

**Until next time,  
-MerryMusician**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Worlds Away**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**…**_

Something was wrong.

No.

Everything was wrong.

Noise came from all directions, hitting his ears in a muffled, muted fashion. Alphonse thought he heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't quite tell if it was his imagination or not. His sight wasn't much better, everything dark except for a few bright, flashing lights. His head throbbed dully, and he slowly realized he was lying in a puddle of water.

Alphonse tried to sit up, but something was pressed hard against his torso and head, pinning him to the ground. Panic pricked at his sluggish mind. Where was he? What was that noise? What was going on?

Everything jumped into focus, sounds no longer muted but now incredibly loud. Sirens wailed and panicked voices echoed around him, piercing his ears like a knife. There was a sense of heat on his back, and Alphonse felt icy cold metal pressing down on him. He looked down to see not water but—oh god is that blood?

His small headache quadruped in size, sending searing white pain across the left side of his skull. Alphonse knew he should try to move, call for help, anything, but his body refused to follow his mind, his arms curled around his head and a strangled cry of pain leaving his throat.

"Damn, it didn't work!" someone shouted.

_Please, help me!_ Alphonse attempted to speak, but all that came out was a whimper.

"It will only work if you let them live," another voice said coldly. "You overdid it."

"Shut up!" the first voice roared.

Suddenly the metal pinning Alphonse down crashed to the side, warm, yellow light filling his vision and heat hitting his face. He vaguely saw two silhouettes above him, but the pain in his head made it hard to focus. One of the shadows laughed, and they slowly began to walk away.

_Wait, please… please help…_ It was no use. The pain was becoming unbearable. Alphonse felt like his head was about to split open any second—

_Thump!_

Alphonse woke up on the floor of the attic, sheets tangled around his legs and his breath coming out in short gasps. He looked around wildly, trying to grasp his surroundings before realizing where he was. He swallowed thickly and tried to stifle his shaky breathing, the fear from the dream still lingering in his mind.

Alphonse sat up and barely caught himself from crying out, a wave of fresh pain erupting from his left temple. He bit his tongue; his eyes scrunched shut as he shoved his face into the side of his mattress. The pain was overwhelming, as if something was slowly tightening around his skull with every passing second.

_Oh god… I forgot the Verapamil earlier_, Alphonse thought. He pushed himself onto his feet, face contorted in pain. _I've got to get downstairs._ The blond glanced at Edward's bed, afraid he woke his brother when he fell. The elder was sound asleep, his quiet snores the only sign he was alive.

Now sure that Edward was asleep, Alphonse shuffled towards the stairs, one hand in front of him and the other clutching his head. He stopped once he reached the door, the stairs and shadows blending in and out of focus. His brows furrowed in concentration, Alphonse carefully placed his foot on the first step.

His head wasn't clear enough for balance though, and he almost toppled down to the base of the stairs if not for his death grip on the handrail. Breathing heavily, Alphonse lowered himself gently onto the steps. _Great,_ he thought. _Let's try another way._

Alphonse scooted downwards step-by-step, not wanting to risk a broken leg on top of his current pain. He finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, his head throbbing to his heartbeat and his stomach swimming.

He stumbled into the bathroom next to the stairs. Before he could get to the medicine cabinet though, his stomach upheaved and he found himself emptying his dinner into the toilet.

"Al?" The sound of limping footsteps approached, and Alphonse turned to see Edward run to the doorway, his eyes widening in shock. "Al!"

"Shhh, you'll wak—hurk!" Alphonse turned towards the toilet to empty out his stomach once more. He felt Edward place a hand on his back, giving him a gentle pat as he spit out bile. There was the sound of running water and Alphonse saw a glass of water placed in front of him. He took it gratefully, rinsing out his mouth to try and rid himself of the burning in the back of his throat.

"So much for the stew," Edward commented dryly, watching as Alphonse slumped against the bathtub. Alphonse offered a weak chuckle, wincing quietly as his throbbing head made itself known again. He rubbed his temple, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Realization came over Edward's features.

"You forgot your medicine!" he exclaimed, jumping up to open the medicine cabinet.

"In all the commotion today, you can't blame me," Alphonse said tiredly.

Edward didn't reply, simply handing Alphonse two pills and a fresh cup of water. Alphonse put the pills to his mouth, felt his stomach churn, and set them to the side, instead taking a tiny sip of the water.

"What? Are you against treatment all of the sudden?" Edward said, looking reproachfully at the two capsules resting on the side of the tub.

"I just thew up. I don't want to puke up my pills two seconds after I take them," Alphonse explained, exhaustion making him blunt. He glanced at the white capsules. "Besides, you got the wrong ones. I use _Triptan_ during a headache, not Verapamil." He sighed and slumped down onto the bathmat, closing his eyes as he tried to ignore the throbbing of his temple.

"Oh, right," Edward replied, silent for a moment.

Alphonse heard some shuffling and the sound of the sink turning on and off again before a cool, wet rag landed on his forehead. He cracked his eyes open to see Edward hunkering down against the cabinet, his bright eyes trained carefully on his younger brother.

"Thanks," Alphonse whispered in reference to the cold washcloth resting on his forehead. It didn't stop the pain, but it distracted and soothed him somewhat.

"No problem," Edward said as if it was no big deal.

They were quiet for a while, with nothing but the sound of Alphonse's deep breathing to accompany them in the dark bathroom. Even though Alphonse's eyes were closed, he could still feel his brother's presence next to him, silently watching over him as his stomach calmed down.

"Aren't we a pair," Edward muttered, disturbing the silence.

"What?"

"One brother missing two limbs, and the other dealing with crippling headaches," Edward continued, a sardonic smile on his face. "We're falling apart."

"Cluster headaches," Alphonse corrected quietly. "…and we're not falling apart. We're still moving forward."

"I guess," Edward chuckled, although there was no humor in it. "If you can call this limp moving." He stood, using the edge of the cabinet to keep his balance, and pulled out the correct medicine from the medicine cabinet. The elder brother exchanged the white pills for two yellow ones, placing both prescription bottles back onto their rightful shelves before sitting back down.

Alphonse eased himself back up, his stomach finally settled. He swallowed the pills one at a time, waiting a minute between each to make sure he didn't hurl. He then laid back down, continuing with his deep breaths.

"…Are you okay?" Edward said after a few minutes. "You look a little more… spooked than hurt."

Alphonse started to answer, but the fear from the memory fragments made the words catch in his throat. He swallowed, trying to push it back as far as he could.

"I had a dream about… that night."

"Oh."

**...**

_*Verapamil and Triptan (or, more specifically, intranasal sumatriptan) are both used to prevent and treat cluster headaches respectively.  
_

_*Cluster headaches are a very real condition that many people suffer from on a daily basis. I tried my best to write it as accurately as possible based on my research, but I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as I have not experienced this condition first hand._

**... **

**Hello again! Updated pretty quick didn't I? And I told you I'd be giving you a little action! Poor Alphonse...**

**Since it was such a quick update, I don't have much to say... except that I continue to get emails about people following the discontinued _Collisions_? I don't? Understand?**

**Anyways, instead of checking out that story, you should definitely fav/follow _this_ story! I know this is kinda lame, but I love getting reviews from my readers! Please tell me what you think of the story so far! I love to get feedback, whether its a three word comment, a scalding critique, a correction... you get my point. No matter what you put, simply reviewing, favoriting, or following lets me know that you're out there and enjoy my story. Silent reading is fine and all (trust me, I do it sometimes too) but being an active reader motivates me as a writer as well! Who knows, it may motivate me enough to get chapters out faster...  
**

**Well, enough of that. Thank you for reading, and I hope you stay for the next chapter of _World's Away_!**

**Until next time  
-MerryMusician**


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